By Colleen Casey, Globe Staff

After dropping a close 1-0 game earlier in the week to Chelmsford, the Acton-Boxboro field hockey team knew it needed to win Wednesday. The Colonials came out determined and played with passion from the first whistle to the last to beat visiting Weston, 3-0.

Elena Cardarelli, her younger sister Leah Cardarelli, and Katherine Gnall each put a point on the board for the No. 15-ranked Colonials.

“We had a really rough game against Chelmsord in the grass,” said A-B coach Mae Shoemaker. “We have a lot of speed on our team and a lot of real young inexperienced girls and they’re just now starting to click together. This was a real big test because Weston is always terrific.”

The Colonials scored off their first corner opportunity 10 minutes into the game. Elena Cardarelli inbounded the ball to Cara Conery and Conery passed back to Cardarelli, who tipped it past the left post. Shoemaker said the team had gone through the set play in practice the day before.

No.9 Weston had a few opportunities to score before the end of the half, sending two balls from outside the circle into the net, but couldn’t find anyone inside the circle to tip them in and make them count.

The Colonials emerged on fire in the second half, outshooting Weston 7-1. Gnall tipped in a rocketed pass from Leah Cadarelli with 21:16 remaining in the game to give A-B a 2-0 advantage.

A-B still wasn’t satisfied. The speedy forward line forced seven more penalty corners before the games end, while the defense allowed only one for Weston.

“I think our girls just were hungry after having the one loss and that difficult game,” said Shoemaker. “They were just determined. We were really good playing through from beginning to end.”

Fast-footed Elena found her sister Leah for the final goal with 8:14 remaining.

"I love working with her,” said the elder Cararelli.  “We both talk to each other and we know where each other is going to be. It’s so much fun to play with her.”

By Jason Mastrodonato, Globe Correspondent

Lincoln-Sudbury, Weston, and Acton-Boxboro can ponder the “what-ifs,” but all three teams fell one goal short of blowing this week’s Top 20 into a whirlwind.

No. 3 L-S gave up a late lead to No. 1 Duxbury while No. 2 Concord-Carlisle fended off both No. 8 A-B and No. 13 Weston in a pair of nail-biters to maintain its perfect record.

The Patriots have won three one-goal games against top-15 opponents this year, a product of what many coaches call “the most patient attack in the area.” They hardly give away costly turnovers and play a tight game of pass-and-catch while waiting for the perfect shot to open up. Check out this Thursday’s Globe West for a full feature on what makes C-C so good.

Meanwhile, No. 5 Wellesley needed a near-perfect game to sneak by the No. 7 Rockets of Needham. No. 9 Dover-Sherborn took out No. 10 Medfield to send the Warriors back five spots. Scituate makes its debut in the rankings this year at No. 18 after a double-overtime victory over No. 11 Catholic Memorial.

The biggest movement though comes from a pair of Dual County League foes in No. 5 Westford and No. 8 Acton-Boxboro. Westford moved up thanks to a convincing win over Weston, and even though A-B lost against C-C, the Colonials showed the athleticism and speed that has led some coaches to say A-B could be the premier DCL team by season’s end.

A once-crazy thought, perhaps, but there’s still a lot of season to be played.

In this edition of High School Weekly, a look at the ultra fast Rivers point guard Carlon Haymon.

High School Sports Weekly profiles the student-athletes from around the region who make high school athletics so compelling. Check out High School Weekly on Facebook.

This week's High School Weekly features Weston girls basketball player Saliah Serrette, the Dual County League's co-MVP last season. Host Jon Meterparel and reporter Kelly Emerson have the story.

By Ayoub Kourikchi, Globe Correspondent

Freshman Katherine Goguen erupted with two goals in the final five minutes of action Thursday to help keep Weston's field hockey team undefeated and down Dual County League rival Westford Academy, 2-0.

After Westford (6-4-2) suffered a corner penalty with five minutes left on the clock, Weston’s head coach Laura Galopim called a timeout and encouraged her team to be aggressive and take advantage of their eight on five situation.

"In the timeout I wanted to motivate them because we are trying to stay undefeated," Galopim said. "I took time to settle them down and prepare them for what was our best chance to score."

Following the timeout, senior midfielder Grace McCurdy found Goguen underneath the left post and the freshman forward shot a reverse stick flick to the right-side of the goal post to propel the Wildcats to a 1-0 lead.

One minute later, Weston (11-0-2) recovered the ball and Goguen flicked a strong-side shot to the left goal post off of a rebound from the goalkeeper with 2:03 left in regulation to score her seventh goal of the season.

"Goguen was playing very aggressively, she wanted to be the one to put the ball into the net," Galopim said. "During both of her goals she came out strong and beat out her defender."

Junior Sara Coburn recorded her seventh shutout this season and her fifth in the row. The goalkeeper’s gritty defensive play was an answer to Westford’s offensive surges as she finished with a season-high 12 saves.

Video by Ryan Mooney for Boston.com

Dan Keohane takes over for a Rivers program that is arguably coming off of its best season ever. With senior captains Ash'Shaquor Sandiford, George Crowley, Sam Birger and Billy Oldach leading the way, the school is primed for another strong season in the ISL.

By Bob Holmes, Globe Staff

Rich Fisher became the second ISL coach in a week to resign, leaving Rivers to pursue other opportunities after two years at the Weston school. MikeTaylor resigned from Lawrence Academy last Friday.

This past fall Fisher led Rivers to an 8-0 regular season and a berth opposite Pingree a NEPSAC bowl game. Rivers lost to Pingree, 36-28, in the game, which was played at Gillette Stadium.

By Anthony Gulizia, Globe Correspondent

Free throws win games. So do full-court layups with two seconds left on the clock.

Weston sophomore Bianca Brueckner raced up the court off an inbounds pass and scored the game-winning layup with two second left to give the Wildcats a 41-40 victory over the Waltham girls basketball team. Waltham fouled Weston an astounding 36 times, giving the Wildcats 55 attempts from the charity stripe.

Weston could have won the game by 34 points ... that is, if they hit their free throws. Linda Martindale's squad shot 38 percent (21-of-55) from the line.

Rivers' Clare Sullivan has signed a letter of intent to play for Holy Cross' women's basketball team next year, the school said in press release.

Sullivan, a 6-3 forward, is a native of Belmont. She averaged 14 points per game and 8 rebounds as a junior for the Weston school. She was named to the ISL all-star team for the last two seasons.

"Clare is a prototypical low post presence who can catch and score with both hands on the block," said Holy Cross coach Bill Gibbons. "She is fundamentally sound and is a tremendous shot blocker."

Holy Cross also announced the signing of two other girls, Ashley Cooper (Rumson, N.J.) and Emily Parker (Johnston, Iowa).

The girls soccer Division 3 state final between Weston and Sutton has been moved to Saturday (Nov. 20) at Worcester State College at 5:30 p.m.

Also, the boys soccer Division 2 state final between Concord-Carlisle and Nipmuc will also be played Saturday (Nov. 20). But the game will be played at 11 a.m. at Foley Stadium in Worcester.

For updated soccer brackets, with all game times and locations listed, go to the MIAA's tournament website.

The times and locations were changed yesterday for a couple of games in the MIAA state semifinals for Division 3 boys and girls soccer. Each game is occurring today.

Here are the games:

- Wednesday, November 17, Boys Division 3
Rockport vs. Dover-Sherborn at Weymouth High school, 5:30 PM

- Wednesday, November 17, Girls Division 3
Weston vs. Dover-Sherborn at Weymouth High school, 7:30 PM

No word yet on any changes due to weather. According to Weather.com, rain is expected today but tonight it's just supposed to be windy with a 20 percent chance precipitation.

The NEPSAC Bowl game between Rivers and Pingree has been moved to Gillette Stadium at 2 p.m. Saturday. The football game was originally scheduled for Endicott College. Rivers (8-0) and Pingree (8-0) will meet in the Norm Walker Bowl, one of five NEPSAC Bowl games this weekend.

Here's the latest episode of the Huddle as Chad Finn breaks down highlights from Central Catholic's 23-21 win over Chelmsford, St. Mary's 22-20 win over Austin Prep, and more. Plus, Globe high school sports editor Bob Holmes joins Chad to discuss next week's game of the week, North Andover (7-1) vs. Wilmington (7-1).

George Craan rushed for 142 yards and four touchdowns to help Concord-Carlisle beat previously undefeated Weston, 25-0. Go here for the story.